Capaza
Capaza was a nation in the continent of Amitrea. It was based in the northern part of the Utrostani peninsula; it was formed circa 1600 BT, and was ultimately subsumed in 101 BT. Capaza primarily bordered Creofan and Vergano to the south, and the Destevial successor states to the north. Foundation One of the largest factors in the collapse of Utrosto, it is widely agreed, is the spread of Gredenism into its territory. This is especially true with respect to Capaza: Egidio Calcano, in his youth, became a devout Gredenist while studying in Batr Keni. He subsequently began fomenting rebellion in northern Utrosto, and upon the death of Antso IV, many northern lords broke away from Utrosto and followed Egidio instead. In his twenty-nine years of rule, Egidio largely sought to establish Gredenism in his territory; this was often a laborious process, although it helped establish an alliance between Capaza and Batr Keni. Egidio's successors were intelligent, if unimaginative, rulers; the first century of Capaza's existence was stable but did not see significant societal advancement or territorial expansion. This ultimately led to the deposition of King Ordonio II in 1509 BT, and in his place, a council of nobles appointed Ramon Rallendo. Rallendo dynasty (1509–1310) The Rallendo dynasty would go on to rule Capaza for centuries, albeit with two significant interregna. Consequently, it is usually broken up into three periods: the Ramonite period (1509–1437), the Gonzalite period (1426–1310), and the Velanite period (1238–1163). The Ramonite monarchs were characterized by their increased aggression: starting with Ramon himself, the Rallendos sought to stir nationalist fervor and build a large military. This had the consequence of alienating Batr Keni; in an attempt to win back its favor, Gonzalo I (r. 1481–1463) launched an invasion of Vergano, but the invasion stalled due to the small border between the two nations. King Ramon II (r. 1463–1440) then aroused the ire of Creofan by mimicking the military reforms that Creofan's King Anastasio I had initiated. This led Anastasio's son, Amadeo II, to invade Capaza after his 1443 accession. Ramon II was able to repel the attacks, but his son and successor Alessandro was unable to organize the Capazar army effectively; thus, Capaza was annexed entirely by 1437. The occupation was short-lived, however; when Creofan fell into civil strife, Alessandro's brother Gonzalo was able to break away from Creofani rule and reestablish Capaza in 1426. Crowned as King Gonzalo II, Gonzalo initiated his eponymous period of the Rallendo dynasty. Gonzalo dedicated most of his own reign to reconstructing Capaza, and to establishing defenses against Creofan, but his successors were able to have more success. Egidio IV (r. 1399–1367), perhaps the strongest leader of the Gonzalite period, even subjugated Batr Keni in 1385 BT. In the 1320s, Vergano had fallen into civil war; seeking to prop up its weak leader, Capazar king Sancho II (r. 1331–1310) contributed substantial military aid to Lopa of Vergano. However, Lopa failed to use the aid effectively, and was still ousted in 1324. Instead, Pedro Eladre ascended the Verganese throne; Sancho attempted to curry favor with Pedro, but was unsuccessful. In 1315, Pedro invaded Capaza, and he managed to subsume the nation in five years. In autumn 1310, Sancho II was publicly executed, and Capaza became a province of Vergano. Capazar dark age Vela Rallendo, a descendant of Sancho II, led a successful revolt against Vergano and managed to reestablish Capaza's independence in 1238. However, he inherited a kingdom riddled with ethnic tensions: a number of Verganese citizens resented Capazar rule, while Lorganes called for a restoration of Batr Keni. Vela mostly opted to postpone action, leading tensions to worsen, while his successors tried to obscure the underlying issues by launching scattered attacks on Sogov and Creofan. This ultimately caused a bloody civil war to erupt in 1175; King Anastasio I (r. 1189–1163) attempted to fight at first, but after performing poorly, he instead opted to go into hiding. Although nominally the king, Anastasio actually had little power for much of the 1160s. Instead, the main Capazar general was Vela Guaraldez; Vela was so respected that, when Anastasio died, Vela was unopposed in his seizure of the Capazar throne. Capaza was still plagued by civil war, and so Vela was forced to solve the ongoing conflict; to do this, he appointed a large council of advisors, compromising royal authority to do so. The Verganese were ultimately assimilated into Capazar society, while a semi-autonomous Lorgane enclave was established in the west of Capaza. Although the war had ended in Capaza, recovery was slow; it was also hampered by attacks, both land and naval, from Zohon. Even after the Disaster of 1061 stymied Zohoni raids, Harald I's Sogov started raiding Capaza itself in the 1050s. This led to widespread unrest, but since the populace was reticent to engage in war after the civil wars of the twelfth century, they instead opted to push a popular choice for the monarchy. However, when Inez of Capaza died in 1051, there was no consensus; thus, Capaza went without a monarch for almost a year before Egidio Tureso was elected. Recovery The Tureso monarchs became significant rivals of Sogov: in particular, Carlos I (r. 1022–996) led a series of campaigns to recapture the land that Capaza had lost earlier. Capaza and Sogov spent much of the early tenth century fighting over their borders, with varying degrees of success, and ultimately led to public disdain of the Tureso family. Thus, Egidio VI (r. 971–954) announced in 965 that he would appoint someone from outside the family to succeed him. Egidio's choice was Gonzalo Surrana, a capable military mind; Gonzalo, as King Gonzalo IV, went on to have a long and successful military campaign, and raised his descendants accordingly. The Surrana family would go on to reclaim a substantial amount of land from Sogov, and Ramon VI (r. 878–848) even conquered Vergano. Ramon had no children who lived to adulthood, however, and so the throne passed instead to his his nephew Fernando Encela. Although Fernando himself was an ineffective ruler who lost Vergano, his descendants captured still further land from Sogov, as well as from Creofan. Thus, Capaza would go on to be a wealthy and successful nation throughout the eighth century. Days of Art and War In 724, Anastasio Tureso seized the throne, demanding a return to Tureso rule; however, he and his son Felipe were lavish and feckless rulers, and so Capaza was overrun by Creofani forces in 687. Capaza would remain a Creofani province for most of the century, until Facundo Villenez successfully declared independence in 619. Facundo— and his son, Facundo II— were determined to establish a uniquely Capazar ethnic identity, which led to an artistic renaissance throughout the sixth century. Seeing Capaza as easy prey, Ordonio IV of Vergano launched an invasion of Capaza in 494; after Capazar king Egidio X was slain in a 491 battle, the general Felipe Domguero instead took the throne and repelled the Verganese. Seeking to minimize the Verganese threat, Felipe made a series of controversial marches through Vergano during his reign, attacking population centers and killing civilians. Although this was effective, it was widely condemned, and Felipe was eventually forced to stop the practice after being pressured by Creofan's Amadeo V in 479. Later in Felipe's life, he would start building a navy; Felipe's son, King Vela V (r. 457–444), would then use this navy to launch an invasion of Batr Elois in 448. After struggling to maintain sovereignty, Batr Elois formed a union with Batr Rotu, and the two states managed to repel Vela. The next major Capazar war came in 405, when Dagmar III of Yorna invaded Capaza; however, the war was a stalemate with no significant gains by either side. The juxtaposition of the artistic Villenezes and the militartistic Domgueros caused "The Days of Art and War" to become a popular term to refer to the two-century period between 600 and 400 BT. Final centuries In 390, Vergano fell— for what would prove to be the final time— to Creofani forces. Creofan's Juan II then went on to invade Capaza, and was fighting successfully for a time, but a plague outbreak in 387 forced him to retreat. Although the Capazar populace frequently claimed that they would go unconquered, Creofan would launch another invasion of Capaza in 352. This actually subsumed Capaza briefly in 347, after Vela VI of Capaza was killed, but Felipe Aldiora led a rebellion that forced the Creofanis out after only two years. Although Capaza remained independent under the Aldiora dynasty, the two-year Creofani dominion had a serious impact on popular culture; the prevailing sentiment became one of hopelessness, even though Creofan struggled under poor rulership through much of the third century. Eventually, frustrated by the continual grimness of public opinion, King Anastasio V (r. 201–186) abdicated the throne and moved to Creofan himself. Ironically, this sparked significant outrage in Capaza, and the newly-crowned Egidio del Muraio launched an invasion of Creofan that significantly added to Capaza's territory. Creofan, under an ineffective parliamentary system at the time, struggled to repel the attacks, and so by the accession of Diego IV (r. 129–101), Capaza was a highly powerful state. However, Capaza's growth made Creofan— as well as Yorna— highly nervous. Alessandro Dalca seized monarchical power in Creofan in 115, and immediately formed a pact with Yorna's Dagmar VI; the two would go on to invade Capaza in 107, and gradually forced Capaza back in the ensuing six years. By 101, Capaza had been reduced to a rump state surrounding its capital of Meriano; Diego IV died that year, and after holding out for two more months, his son Facundo surrendered. Capaza was promptly annexed by Creofan, and destroyed entirely. Category:Countries Category:Amitrean Countries Category:Defunct Countries